All For You
by anemix
Summary: Naruto is not a real person. He is what everyone needs, subconsciously or not. He was created, all for the purpose of everyone else's happiness.
1. Chapter 1

**All For You**  
Chapter 1  
4/4/09

**Disclaimer:** Not mine.

**AN:** This is the first story I've written that had no outside influences pushing me to write it. Please review. Tell me the good parts and the bad.

~*~

As the door swung shut to his apartment behind him, Naruto's blinding grin slowly faded away to be replaced by a slightly bitter smile. The day had been like every other. Sakura and Ino bickering over Sasuke's attention, Sasuke trying to sneak away, and Naruto had played his part.

He rushed around getting into everybody's business, arguing with Kiba, asking Sakura on another turned down date. Every time they laughed at him, it hurt. Every time he was made a fool, it stung. Naruto wasn't really such a bumbling idiot.

At the Academy Naruto's friends were insecure, trying to please others and be the best. They had needed someone to look down on, to feel better than.

Now, as fully-fledged ninja, everything was changing for them. The world was darker than they thought, and being a ninja was not so glamorous and honorable as they dreamed. They killed un-nobly, the innocent as well as the poor, all for the good of their village.

With everything changing, they tried to ignore the new world they'd found. They clutched at familiarity, in hope of a simpler world they once thought existed.

They needed the class clown, so Naruto gave it to them. He supplied himself as the scapegoat, even as it pained him. They needed Naruto to stay the same, so he complied. He stayed the same naïve happy-go-lucky fool, all for his friends. Slowly and surely, his heart was being ripped out. Piece by piece, from every underestimation, every snide comment of the people he gave his all to.

Naruto didn't care though. He would give every last fiber of his being to his friends. They had saved him from the dark abyss. Even though they didn't truly know him, they acknowledged his existence. They didn't look at him with those cold, cold eyes of intense loathing.

He would do anything and everything for them. He was what they needed him to be. They had saved him from an existence worse than hell, so Naruto pretended to be the little ball of sunshine and ignorance that they needed. No matter if in the process he tore his soul asunder.

Naruto sighed as he shook himself back to reality. He slowly got ready for bed, to rest for the next day's act. Naruto could feel the strain of forcefully holding up his character for so long, and yet he continued. His friends depended on him. As long as they where happy, it was worth it.

~*~

INFO: For the time period, this is after the Chunin Exams but before Sasuke left. Everyone has taken C-class missions, which include wiping out bandit camps. Also included as C-class missions are taking missions payments from clients who haven't paid yet, forcefully or otherwise. Those who have racked up a big debt and refuse to pay are killed, so the genin have all killed already.


	2. Chapter 2

**All For You**  
Chapter 2  
4/4/09

**Disclaimer:** Not mine.

**AN:** Thank you for my first two reviews ever! One mentioned me continuing this, and the idea wouldn't leave my head, so I started writing chapter two. I then forgot about it for a while, but when I revisited it I decided to finish it up, so here's the next chapter.

~*~

The next day, Naruto once again slipped on his alter ego before heading to team 7's meeting spot. He bounced along towards the bridge, arriving to see Sasuke conspicuously absent. Sakura was leaning against the bridge with her back to him, and Kakashi wouldn't show up for a few hours yet.

Sniffling came from Sakura's figure and he knew she was crying, but even though it hurt him to see her that way, 'Naruto' wouldn't have noticed anything.

"Ohayo Sakura-chan! Where's Sasuke-teme? I bet that bastard's brooding around somewhere." Sakura continued to cry, not even acknowledging his presence.

Naruto popped up in front of Sakura's face. "Oy, Sakura-chan! Don't ignore me!" And then pretending to just notice her emotional state, "What's wrong? Did Sasuke-teme do something to you? If he did I'll beat him up for hurting you! Do you know what would really make you feel better? A date with me! We'll go to Ichiraku's, and you can tell me what's bothering you and I'll cheer you right up! We'll eat delicious…"

"Naruto, just shut up," Sakura whispered into her chest, as the blond kept rambling on.

"and then…"

"Shut up!" she screamed, snapping out at him. "You know nothing of my problems, and the day you actually make me feel better is the day that hell freezes over. You're just a happy-go-lucky idiot that never helps anything. In fact, you make things worse. It would be better if you just disappeared to wherever all the idiots go and leave us people with less-than-perfect lives alone!"

He froze, suddenly silent, as Sakura clenched her fists, panting from her outburst. Pink hair shrouded green eyes as she slowly regained control of her emotions. She shivered, struggling not to break into tears again, and blank eyes stared on.

He helped, gave his all, and still she hated him for it. Did everyone else feel the same way? Was all of his pain for nothing? That broken boy could force himself onwards if he just held on to the fact that he was making his friends happy, yet that reality was cracking.

Naruto stuffed his uncertainty away into the farthest reaches of his soul and reapplied his mask. "Don't say that Sakura-chan," he pouted, acting slightly hurt, "You know I was only trying to cheer you up." His mask slipped slightly and he hurried away before it could fall further.

Sakura looked up with a flicker of questioning in her eyes at his unexpected absence, and watched him hurry away. She vaguely wondered at his strange actions, before her eyes glazed over again and she turned back towards the river.

Images of the previous night flickered in front of her eyes again, her parents arguing in hushed tones about her chosen profession as she watched from the shadows.

~*~

"We should have never let her go this far! Our daughter's been degraded into a fangirl for that damn Uchiha!"

"It is her dream though! As her parents we should support her choices and decisions."

"But does she know what she's getting in to? The life of a ninja is treacherously dangerous, yet all she thinks about is winning the heart of a boy who doesn't give her the time of day!"

Not able to stand anymore, Sakura sneaked away with tears streaming down her face, and so missed his next few words.

"With the way that the 'Last Uchiha' has been acting, I'm even beginning to think that the demon brat would be a better match for her."

~*~

Naruto sank against a tree out of Sakura's sight as she gave back in to her turbulent thoughts. He sank into despair, her words repeating again and again in his head, then furiously worked to ignore it. She was just having a bad day and lashing out at him. She didn't mean those words she said, those that counteracted the very purpose of his existence. He repeated that mantra, trying to hold together his fracturing soul.

~*~


End file.
